Friday, September 21, 2012

Does the University of Waterloo Care about Male Students?

“Waterloo
Regional Police on Thursday announced that a sexual assault occurred on the
University of Waterloo campus on Monday, Sept. 17. The statement
from Waterloo Regional Police reads in part:

'As
a result of investigation by Major Case Branch investigators, it has been
determined that a rape described at the University of Waterloo campus on
September 17, 2012 occurred.'

No charges
have been filed.

False rape
accusations are treated very seriously at the University of Waterloo. A guide
to campus and community resources can be found at http://uwaterloo.ca/police/sexual-assault. The
university appreciates the efforts of Waterloo Regional Police and the
University of Waterloo Police Service in this investigation.”

“Waterloo
Regional Police on Thursday announced that a sexual assault alleged to have
happened on the University of Waterloo campus on Monday, Sept. 17, did not
occur. The statement
from Waterloo Regional Police reads in part:

'As
a result of investigation by Major Case Branch investigators, it has been
determined that the female’s initial allegations to police were not true. The
sexual assault previously described at the University of Waterloo campus on
September 17, 2012, did not occur. Investigators are appreciative of public
assistance received during the investigation.'

No charges
have been laid.

The
University of Waterloo remains committed to ensuring the safety of all members
of our campus community. Safety tips and a full outline of our campus safety
services and procedures is available online at http://uwaterloo.ca/police/personal-safety-guide. Sexual
assault is treated very seriously at the University of Waterloo. A guide to
campus and community resources can be found at http://uwaterloo.ca/police/sexual-assault. The
university appreciates the efforts of Waterloo Regional Police and the
University of Waterloo Police Service in this investigation.”

Now, what did
the initial report sound like? Did the university take a dispassionate stance,
or did they automatically side with the accuser? If you have been following The War on Male Students, you probably already know the answer. But if you don’t, here it is, as well as something else besides:

“On Monday, September 17, between 10
and 10:30 p.m., a female student was sexually assaulted
by two males while walking through the west cul de sac between Village 1 and
Mackenzie King Village.

Police provided the following
descriptions of the suspects, who fled after the assault:

The ongoing investigation is being led
by Waterloo Regional Police, supported by University of Waterloo Police. We
will update the campus community as more information becomes available. Anyone
with information is asked to contact Waterloo Regional Police at 519-650-8500
ext. 3310, University of Waterloo Police at 519-888-4567 ext. 22222, or call
Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.

The safety of our students and all
members of our campus community is of paramount concern at the University of
Waterloo. As a result of this incident, campus police have increased patrols in
the area of the student residences. Students, faculty, staff and other members
of our community are encouraged to be alert to danger and report any suspicious
activity to campus police.

When walking,

Follow a major road at night, or a
well-lit path

Walk at a steady pace and with confidence
near the curb

Avoid dark entrances and shrubs

Do not walk home alone at night — make
arrangements with a friend to meet and walk home together, call for a
ride, or use one of the resources offered by the university.

Further information about campus
safety resources, including our shuttle service, can be found online at https://uwaterloo.ca/police/safety-resources.
The shuttle service is available from the first day of registration to the last
day of exams. It leaves regularly from the Student Life Centre at about 7:00
p.m. in the winter, at 9:00 p.m. in the summer and runs until 2:00 a.m. Women have first priority for rides. Emergency
intercoms, with flashing blue lights, are located throughout the campus.”

From a perspective of gender equity, some things
come to mind:

In the final
report, the university tells us that “sexual assault is treated very seriously
at the University of Waterloo.” Here we have the usual: whenever a false rape
accusation occurs on campus, instead of telling us how seriously they treat
false accusations (which they can’t legitimately say because they don’t), the
university tells us that they instead take very seriously the crime that was
the subject of the false accusation. The same thing happened at my alma mater, A&M-Commerce: the initial report was spun as if an assault had absolutely occurred, and the final report focused primarily on the plight of rape victims, including a shadowy and fear-inspiring picture of a rapist (pictured below).

In
addition to telling us that a rape had absolutely occurred, the initial report
says that the suspect was “male, white,
19 years old, 5’6”, with a heavy build, and wearing a red hat.” I wouldn't like to be a male student who just casually came to school wearing a red hat that day,
or a man who anyone in the university had ever seen wearing a red hat. Just
think if a guy who had not seen the report was going to class and someone in
the class said, “hey didn’t you wear a red hat last semester?” And regardless
as to whether he did or did not respond by saying “oh yeah, yeah I did,” and regardless
as to whatever the police said in a final report, it wouldn’t matter. Thanks to
the university, he would already have been socially convicted.

Concerning the
false rape accusation, the university tells us “no charges have been filed.” That was a mistake. A commenter on Reddit argued that no charges
should be filed against the accuser, for this reason: “This never got to a prosecution
stage. Once she presses false charges with the police and prosecution, then
it becomes serious.”

I disagree, for this reason: punishments for false rape accusations
- even light forms of punishment - deter future false accusers. Given that the
lack of deterrence may promote future false rape accusations, and given that
rape is such an emotionally charged accusation that it sometimes compels people
to make vigilante attacks against the person accused (which may result in
injury or death - see HERE and HERE and HERE), adopting a policy of deterrence in regards to false rape
accusations - even if the punishment exists in light forms - is the best
policy, given that it may save someone's life down the road. And it bears
mention that when a university publicly presumes guilt against the person
accused, it has the potential to put a man’s life in danger.

Rosa Parks

Lastly, in describing the shuttle services, the
university tells us “Women have first priority for
rides.” In
case the University of Waterloo hasn’t noticed, men are the majority of victims
of street violence, including and especially homicides. If whites were the
majority of victims of violence, would they tell black students that white
students have priority over blacks? Need we remember the case of Rosa Parks (pictured right), an
African-American woman who sparked a national civil rights debate because she
refused to give up her seat on the bus for a white person? In this case, male students aren’t being told they have to sit at the
back of the bus; they can’t even get on the bus.

An imbalance in resources between male and female victims, a
cultural crusade against male criminality with a casual indifference
toward female criminality, and discrimination against male students on the
basis of sex, these are things which we should see as a structural inequities. But
to a modern university, none of these things are perceived as inequities or
discriminations against male students; it is business as usual.

Several things need to change at the University of Waterloo:

"In Harmony With Truth"

#1 – In the initial campus reports, Waterloo needs to stop
reporting accusations of sexual misconduct as if they had absolutely occurred. The
university’s motto is “Concordia Cum Veritate,” which ironically means “in
harmony with truth.” It might be a good idea to practice that.

#2 - Charges need to be brought against the woman who made a false
rape accusation. This needs to become standard operating procedure, and the
University of Waterloo needs to advocate and support this.

#3 – Resources for the wrongly accused need to be in place at
Waterloo and posted at the university’s website.

#4 – The shuttle service needs to stop discriminating against male
students who wish to use the shuttles.

And there’s probably a few other changes Waterloo University needs
to make, but that’s good to go on for now.

Students at Waterloo University need to speak up. They need to
consult their administrators and tell them that what they are doing is not good
enough for the needs of male students. If the administrators refuse, I have
just the thing. College campuses across the west sponsor an event called “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes.” The intent of the event is to raise awareness of female
victims and to “stop men’s violence against women.”

Those crazy admins!

I propose that every University of Waterloo administrator who
thinks that these things are ok be given a red hat that they will put on, and then
(while wearing it) walk a mile through and around the University of Waterloo
campus. We’ll call it “Walk a Mile in His Red Hat.” Sounds catchy, eh?

UCLA welcomes male students to campus

Perhaps some university administrator may protest and say that
such a proposition is out of line. But why should they? Male students as a
group have all sorts of hostile and denigrating messages directed to them every
day, many of them approved by their university’s administration. Why should
university administrators object to experiencing for a brief punctuation of
time universities force male students to feel all the time?

Or maybe they just need to stop discriminating against male students
and call it a day, eh? :D

If you want to visit the world’s largest blog giving a voice to
victims of wrongful accusations of sexual assault, visit The Community of the
Wrongly Accused at www.cotwa.info. If you’d
like to learn more about discrimination against men and boys in education, visit the archive page for The War on Male Students.